The 'Twilight' zone

Some scenes from the newest "Twilight" saga, "Eclipse" were filmed in New Westminster, Canada.

Some scenes from the newest "Twilight" saga, "Eclipse" were filmed in New Westminster, Canada. (Flickr user: boring_vanner)

Kristin JacksonThe Seattle Times

You don't need to travel too far into Canada to enter the "Twilight" zone. Just head to Vancouver, British Columbia, where "Eclipse," the third installment from the wildly popular vampire-love movies based on the "Twilight" novels, was filmed.

The book, by Stephenie Meyer, is set mostly in Forks and La Push on Washington's Olympic Peninsula and in Seattle. But the movie, being released on June 30, was filmed in locations around Vancouver, from downtown streets to densely wooded suburban parks that substitute for places in Washington state.

Fans have been tracking down "Eclipse" filming locations since last summer and fall when the movie was shot. The film company, Summit Entertainment, won't release details on locations. However, the online fan community is buzzing with swooning tales of "Eclipse" star sightings and shooting locations in Vancouver.

Once they've seen the movie, even more "Twi-hards" are expected to trace the characters' footsteps — and love and battle scenes — in Vancouver.

"Eclipse" is a teen heartthrob triangle centered on a good vampire (hunky, moody Edward Cullen, played by Robert Pattinson), a good werewolf (hunky, chest-baring Jacob Black, played by Taylor Lautner) and a so-far human girl (sultry, angst-ridden Bella Swan, played by Kristen Stewart).

In "Eclipse," Bella is caught in love and friendship between Edward and Jacob. To add to her woes, a bunch of bad "newborn" vampires — people who have just been bitten — want to rip her to shreds. Epic fights ensue in the forests around Forks, and the bloodthirsty newborns rampage murderously through Seattle.

For fans, the easiest way to see "Eclipse" film sites is to take a set-location tour. Several small Vancouver companies offer half-day or daylong van tours to filming locations from "Eclipse" and "New Moon," the previous film in the Twilight series that also was shot in Vancouver. (The first film in the series, "Twilight," was shot in Portland and southwest Washington; Vancouver sets for "New Moon" and "Eclipse" were made to look the same as in the first film, including a fabricated version of Bella Swan's home that's now dismantled.)

Vancouver Set Tours is one of the companies offering van tours to publicly-accessible locations used in the Twilight films.

"We've got people from Australia, England, Mexico, Brazil and of course Americans and Canadians," said g 29-year-old Mandy Anderson, a guide with Vancouver Set Tours.

"It's really neat after you see the film, to see the locations," said Anderson, a big fan of the "Twilight" series. "And we can take people to the exact spot in the forest where they shot a scene, show them where the actors were standing, the camera angle."

Similar tours are offered by On Location Vacations. Christine Kilpatrick, a 40-something "Twilight" fan ("I've read all the books at least twice"), runs the company. She shepherds up to a dozen guests by van to "Eclipse" (or "New Moon") filming locations that are not on private property.

Ardent fans, who categorize themselves as Team Edward or Team Jacob, can customize tours according to which character they love best, said Kilpatrick, who also includes Vancouver sights on her 6-{-hour movie-set tour. "I just had a family of four who drove all the way from Arkansas to take the tour," said Kilpatrick.

"Eclipse" sites on the tour range from the ramshackle home of Jacob Black, the werewolf hero, to spots in the woods where vampires, werewolves and Bella kissed and ran and battled. Kilpatrick even will take visitors high up on Mount Seymour, a 4,700-foot peak just north of Vancouver, where a love-triangle scene in a tent in the woods was filmed.

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IF YOU GO:

TWILIGHT-THEMED TOURS IN VANCOUVER, B.C.

Several small companies offer tours of movie locations in Vancouver, B.C., including places on public property where "Eclipse" and "New Moon" were filmed. (For legal reasons they don't use the movies' titles.)

On Location Tours: A 6-{-hour tour costs Cdn. $169 per adult, with discounts for children 12 and under and for groups of four or more. www.onlocationtoursvancouver.com or 778-549-1774.

There's also some "Eclipse" filming locations that can be seen from public streets or in parks, gleaned from tour guides and online fan sites.

David Thompson Secondary School, Vancouver

This high school in south Vancouver serves as Forks High School in the movie. It's where Bella Swan goes to school, and cafeteria and classroom scenes were shot there. 1755 E. 55th Ave., Vancouver, B.C.

Various outdoor scenes were shot in the thick woods and lakes of this 2,700-acre park in the Vancouver suburb of Port Moody. In the film, newborn vampires spookily emerge from the water — said to be the park's Sasamat Lake.

"I know the lake well," said Vancouver Set Tour's Anderson, who saw the "Eclipse" movie earlier this month in a Los Angeles preview. "It's where my husband proposed to me."

The newborn vampires rampage murderously through Seattle in the novel. In the film, the town of New Westminster, about a half-hour drive east of Vancouver, is used for some such scenes, including on its Fraser River waterfront that edges downtown. (Parts of "New Moon" also were filmed in New Westminster, in the Front Street area.) www.newwestcity.ca/

Gastown, Vancouver

Parts of Gastown, a historic district of downtown Vancouver with brick buildings, cobbled streets and spooky alleys, substitute for Seattle in the film.

Port Coquitlam

Outdoor scenes were shot in and near the forested Minnekhada Regional Park (off Victoria Drive and Quarry Road) in suburban Port Coquitlam, including a climactic fight scene, said Kilpatrick of On Location Tours.

For "Twilight fans" who want to go back in time, locations used in filming "New Dawn," the previous film in the series, included a luxury home and movie theater.

A West Vancouver home served as the glossy, elegant pad of the Cullens, Edward's vampire family (who in the books live in secluded luxury in the woods near Forks). The film-set house at 118 Stevens Drive, in the upscale British Properties neighborhood, is for sale for about $3 million. Real estate agent Jason Soprovich said the house has been "incredibly popular" with drive-by fans. But don't count on an open house: access is strictly controlled (there are photos at www.soprovich.com/home40.html)

In Vancouver, the old-style Ridge Theatre (3131 Arbutus St.) serves as the Port Angeles theater where Bella goes to the movies. www.festivalcinemas.ca/

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You might also consider traveling to other film locations including...

TWILIGHT IN ITALY

Volterra: If you want to get really fancy on a "Twilight" tour, some spooky vampire scenes from "New Moon," the second book in the series, were set in Volterra, Italy. Companies offer tours in and around the medieval Tuscan hilltown, from half-day walking tours to four-day packages. Or you can visit Volterra on your own and also go to nearby Montepulciano, where the Italian scenes from "New Moon" actually were filmed.

The movie "Eclipse" will help bring more fans to Forks, the Olympic Peninsula town that's the main setting for the novels and films. The "Twilight" saga has been a boon for Forks over the last few years, with "Twi-hards" filling motels and snapping up "Twilight"-themed memorabilia, from sweatshirts and mugs to the Bella Burger at a hamburger joint.

"Twilight" map, guidebook: For an interactive map showing "Twilight"-linked sights around Forks, La Push and Port Angeles, see www.forkswa.com/twilight. A guidebook, "Twilight Tours — The Illustrated Guide to the Real Forks," is sold through the website, for $11.95.

The oceanfront village of La Push, home to the "Twilight" character Jacob Black and his werewolf pack, lies within the Quileute reservation west of Forks. See www.quileutenation.org, which includes information for visitors and traditional Quileute legends and tales. There's also a Quileute online store with some "Twilight"-type merchandise, including a Quileute wolf charm bracelet. www.quileute-store.com